Decode
by Lavenderlash
Summary: Olive's parents have always had communication problems, but why she has to move away from the only home she's ever known, she doesn't know; but she's got bigger things to worry about. It wasn't enough that she recently lost someone, now she had to deal with a murderer, two suspicious teenage boys, a manic pixie dream girl, her brother, and a problem she never even knew she had.
1. prologue

"I don't want to do this, you know that," She spoke softly, looking ahead of her with an air of sadness that shouldn't have been so prominent in a 16-year-old girl. "I'd rather stay here with you than leave, but they're making me. It's like they _want _me to be even more unhappy."

Almost, _almost_ used to the silence coming from her partner, she turned toward her phone and unlocked it, scrolling through her apps until she found the one she was looking for, a music app that stored almost 1,500 favorite songs of hers. Using her finger to scroll through the never-ending list, she used the other hand to scrounge up the grass beneath her, a small smile forming on her face.

"I found this new song that I feel like you'd like. It's from the eighties but, I don't know, it fits you and your whole Robert Smith look." She glanced up before looking back down at her phone, finding the song and pressing the play button, anticipating a reaction she knew she wouldn't get but pretended she would anyway. The beginning blared through her phone, a soft piano playing before 80s drum beats and a guitar added to it. She bobbed her head to it, clutching her phone to her chest.

Truth be told, she couldn't understand a lick of what the lyrics said when the feminine voice rolled in, even after she had searched the internet for lyrics and found some that she still couldn't decipher in the song, but she liked it anyway. The song made her feel like she was floating through time and space, away from every problem she was facing at the moment. She was beginning to understand just how unfair life was, it was weird to her how a song could help make her feel like it wasn't.

The song played on as she sat there, swaying back and forth and enjoying the tune, her brightly dyed hair swinging from side to side as she bobbed her head in time with the drums. Wind blew through the area, causing the trees to shake and rustle their leaves almost like they were dancing with her. She thought of the person in front of her, a new wave of sadness hitting her in realization that they wouldn't dance with her to this song, or any song anymore.

"I don't want to leave you," she murmured solemnly, still swaying along to the beat, "It's not like I'm forgetting you. You know I'd never do that. I just... I don't have a choice in the matter. They think it's good for me and Declan, but they're wrong. What good is it if I can't see you anymore?"

Her pale hand reached out and touched the headstone, a tight smile twisted on her lips as she felt the roughness of it. She trailed down, her fingers ghosting over the letters of his name, then the date of birth to the date of death, then to the typical '_he was a loving son and a friend to all._' That was bullshit, he hated his mom and his only friends were her and two other people who pushed her away after he died _because _of how he died. The same friends who swore they were always there for him. She sighed quietly, letting the song fade out until it was nothing, just the ghost of something that once was. Just like him.

"There's not a day goes by that I won't think of you, you know that. I'll still talk to you, just not right here, obviously. I mean, maybe not in public because people will think I'm wacko, but..." Tucking her bottom lip between her teeth, she pulled back her hand, a heavy sigh exiting through her nostrils, "I miss you. I'll miss you forever. It's like some shit from Titanic, isn't it? The whole '_I'll never let go, Jack!_' thing is the same thing I'm saying to you, but... it's true. At least, I hope so. I just wish you were here. Do you think it gets easier?"

She laughed quietly to herself over how she was talking to thin air. No one was listening to her even if she hoped for the opposite. Maybe he was listening in the spirit world, who knew? Either way, she thought herself crazy to talk to a grave when no one was around to hear her, but she continued anyway, trying to savor the last few moments she had by his side until she had to leave for good. The sun was fully risen now, the bird chirping away as they basked in the morning light, everything was just beginning for that day as the sunrise dimmed away. It was almost time for her to leave.

Her throat ached with the unshed tears that burned her eyes, beating her up inside for how stupid and defeated she felt over everything. She never even got to say goodbye to him, not a real one anyway, and now she couldn't make it up to him anymore because of her parents. In what world was that fair? Why was it so cruel to her when she had just turned 16? "I swear I'd stay here forever if I could, Nate. You know that," Her whispered words died away in her throat, leaving a sour taste in her mouth. "I wish I could've stopped you, helped you, something. I'm sorry I have to leave. What kind of girlfriend am I?"

Kissing the palm of her hand, she turned her wrist and pressed her index fingers to his name. **_Nathaniel_**. It was the only thing she could leave to him besides a dandelion she had picked out of the ground when she first arrived there that day. _Stupid, stupid, stupid, she couldn't even get him a real bouquet?_ "I know you're dead, I know I have to accept that, but I just can't. Jesus, you were only 16..." She moved her hand up and clutched the edge of the headstone, pulling herself up with shaky knees. Wiping the wetness under her eyes, she shook her head, a bittersweet smile appearing on her lips. "I wish you were coming with me. This place we're moving to, it's called Beacon Hills. It's all the way in California! What the _hell_ do I know about California? Bullshit, that's what."

Her phone buzzed in her hand and she looked down to see a text from her brother saying that he and their parents were there to pick her up so they could finally leave town. A sigh left her mouth, her eyes cast downwards as she put her phone in her back pocket and wiped off her jeans. She tried to buy as much time as she could just so she could be alone, but that was the problem, there wasn't enough time. There was never enough time.

"I love you" was the last thing she said to the person - _grave _in front of her before she started to saunter off, her emotions getting the better of her as she walked away from it all. From her past, from her old life, from everything. Beacon Hills was her next stop, but she wished it was beside him, playing around in the fields their town was full of as their favorite bands played from his or her phone. Beacon Hills and everyone in it could go fuck itself, it wasn't where she belonged, not truly anyway.


	2. the rug has been pulled

The ride across the country had been silent for the most part, the only source of sound the humming from the engine and the music that had been blaring from both hers and her brother's headphones. Olive had watched the world change as they drove on, her eyes occasionally drooping due to the vibrations from the car lulling her to sleep and then opening them as wide as she could and finding that the sun had gone down. They stopped for the night somewhere in Oklahoma before moving on again the next morning, but Olive couldn't get the sick taste out of her mouth, her hometown and everyone in it flashing in her mind every time she blinked or closed her eyes. She tried to focus more on her music than anything, but the magical voice of Stevie Nicks only did so much for her in this situation as she was forced to sit in a car for a few more hours, her backside uncomfortably numb and her back needing a good stretch.

She glanced over at her brother with a twinge of jealousy. He didn't have guilt weighing on his shoulders, pulling him down until he was absolutely miserable; she, on the other hand, knew it was because of her that they were moving all the way to Beacon Hills. It didn't make a lot of sense for them to move across the country anyway, why couldn't they choose to move to another town nearby? But, then again, hardly anything her parents did ever made sense to her. Everyone in the family was guilty of having communication issues, she was just the only one who liked to admit it.

Hours passed before they successfully made it to California and began to look for certain signs that would lead them to their new home, much to her dismay. She would silently hope that they would make a wrong turn somewhere or end up lost, but in the end they found the sign that read 'Welcome to Beacon County!' in big bold letters that eventually led to their rightful place in Beacon Hills, which resided up in the valley area. They drove on, passing the high school and a veterinarian clinic and all sorts of mom &amp; pop stores one could expect from a smaller town, and it almost felt like the houses they passed would never end until they finally found the one that they would now call their own, nestled in the suburbs and surrounded by houses that were nearly identical, but, of course, were only home to those who had money. Their house had a freaking _second _story for God's sake. They had only ever owned a one story house.

Her dad parked the car in their new driveway and immediately got out to check out the U-haul while everyone else stayed in the car and unbuckled their seat belts, taking in the look of their new home and how different everything was. Even the air was different, the smell of pine and nature hitting them all at full force. Olive immediately didn't like it, she didn't like anything that had to do with this place or anyone in it; she had already decided that for herself and wouldn't let anyone change that. Her brother would be her only friend now... if he could even count as that in this point in time.

Her mother gazed out of the window at their house for a minute before nodding to herself as if calculating something and then getting out of the car to unlock the front door, leaving Olive and Declan in the car to deal with each other. Olive looked over at him and how much different he was from her; tall, dark hair that had never been touched by chemicals, and a hell of a lot quieter and smarter than she could ever hope to be. They were complete opposites of each other, some people even thought they were lying when they said they were related, but if if they shared anything, it was their awful watered down Irish accents that were passed on by their parents who hailed from Donegal, Ireland. It wasn't noticeable, really, it went away pretty quick after they started going to school and communicating with people who didn't have accents, but it would start up around family unnoticeable at times. It was about the only thing Olive thought was cool about her family.

"Don't make me get out of the car first." Olive told him, stopping her music and pulling her earbuds out of her ears. Declan looked over at her with a blank face, doing the same as her and shoving his earbuds in his pocket like he didn't care if they got tangled or not. "I'm serious, don't."

He sighed and rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath as he turned and opened the door, getting out of the car and leaving her to her own devices, just how she liked it. Her inner turmoil had suppressed for the time being and therefore she didn't feel the need to angrily bash her head into the back of the seat or jump into the front seat and drive the car right into their new house. No, she felt a feeling in her chest that she hadn't felt in a long time: contempt. So she sat there, watching everyone carry something into their new house while she sat in the car, free of the manual labor while she could enjoy her solidarity in the one thing that had remained the same since they left Tennessee.

She stuck her head partially out of the window and looked at the houses that lined the street they now lived on, noticing that another U-haul was parked not too far down from them. Either they were moving out or moving in, either of which Olive didn't really care - on the outside. She was a little curious about it and potential irony in it: one family was possibly leaving, another was coming in. That was the circle of life, wasn't it?

"Come on, genius. You can't stay in the car the rest of your life." Declan, who had managed to reappear under her nose, promptly snapped his fingers in her face to get her attention better, something that caused her to jump and glare at him.

"I'll do what I feel like, dickhead." Olive told him, sighing in defeat at the look he gave her. "Yeah, okay, whatever."

She opened the car door and took her first step on Beacon Hills soil, her face twisted in disgust. She hated it. She wanted to go back home. She wanted to be with him. Her parents yanked the rug right under her and laughed at the fall, managing to take her brother down with him - but at least he could take a joke.

* * *

**I know that people may not have seen the announcement for the rewrite before I deleted it and the previous chapters so I'm sorry for all who were invested in this story before I decided to rewrite it. My readers have always been in my best interest and I just want to do what makes them happy, but you have to understand that it's my story too and, frankly, I lost interest in it when I said I never would and I'm sorry. If I hadn't decided to rewrite it (I just couldn't do anything with it beyond what was already written, I'm sorry. I looked back on how I wrote everything and criticized myself so much that it just ruined everything) this story would've been abandoned completely with no hope of ever being revived. I've put too much thought into everything to just leave it like that, so my only option was to rewrite it. If you lose interest in this reboot or aren't that interested in the first place, I'm sorry you feel that way. I'm not forcing you to read this new version if you don't want to and you can do as you please, but I just couldn't keep the old version up either. That was on my part and I just hated my writing so much that I had to see it gone. I'm sorry if you were currently reading that version and came online just to see that it was gone, I truly am, but I don't want to bring the old version back. If you like that better, I may end up bringing it back since I have those chapters in my drafts on wattpad, but it will **_never_** be finished and that's why I didn't want to keep the old version. It would never, ever, be finished and will basically be left to the wind.**

**If you stuck around for Decode and are sticking around for this new version, thank you. If you stuck around for the old version but aren't interested in this one, that's okay. If you don't want to bother with this story anymore, I'm perfectly fine with that. If you've ever even taken the time to read any version of this, _thank you_. It has meant a lot to me.**


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